Devery has witnessed it firsthand. In the play, his client, thuggish millionaire Harry Brock (the pitch-perfect Greg Hinojosa) is concerned that his unrefined girlfriend Billie Dawn (Hayley Burnside) will somehow undermine his efforts to buy influence in Washington, D.C.

Devery suggests that he hire someone to educate Billie, and Harry turns to Paul Verrall (well-drawn by Nick Lawson), a reporter. Paul agrees, and soon, Billie finds that she enjoys learning. She also becomes much more aware of what her beau is up to, and that makes her dangerous, indeed.

The show, directed with typical astuteness by Matthew Byron Cassi, is every bit as funny and smart as it should be.

Every actor is marvelous, but the show belongs to Burnside. She delivers a comedic gem of a performance. One example: In the first act, Billie and Harry plan gin rummy. Most of the scene plays out in sounds and gestures rather than dialogue. Burnside makes the most of that: Opening her eyes wide as she gleefully snatches up cards that he has discarded, plainly reveling in her victory, eventually shimmying in her seat as she hums “Anything Goes.”